Four Minutes

…is how much the TiVo probably would have cut off the end of Lost had I not been paying attention.

Anyway, now down to the last three episodes of the season, 2×22 starts us off towards the inevitable confrontation with the Others coming in the finale. Judging by Sayid’s suspicions about Michael’s true intentions, fireworks are sure to follow. Others vs. Castaways, Castaways vs. Michael, Michael vs. Others, Hurley vs. Ham Sandwich…

I’ve got no central theme to really latch onto this week, but I think that may be because I’ve had too much Chinese food for dinner and the MSG is interfering with my higher brain functions. Thus, I present to you a series of random thoughts, bulleted for your convenience.

We finally see Others “home base,” a group of ramshackle structures fashioned out of old supplies and canvas. It is plain to see that they aren’t exactly living the high life, but as with Zeke’s fake beard, appearances are surely not what they seem. Who knows what could be inside/under those huts.

Most notable with regard to the events that occur here is the introduction of a new “officer” in the Other Army, one aptly-named “Miss Clue,” who appears to outrank Mr. Zeke (a.k.a. Guy w/Fake Beard; see image above). I didn’t find any added significance to the name on the web, other than the obvious connotation as “provider of clues.” This woman provides a few clues as to what exactly the Others are up to, most notably with her dialogue with Walt.

I think “The Room” that Miss Clue referred to, and that Walt appeared scared of, might have something to do with one of the Hanso Foundation’s projects listed on their site: remote viewing. Perhaps it’s not exactly a comfortable experience for Walt, but his telekinetic/psychic abilities would seem to make him a prime candidate for that project. If subjects like him are a rarity (clearly), then it would make sense for the Others (a.k.a. Dharma Initiative scientists) to be desperate to keep him for further study. The fact that Walt referred to Miss Clue and her Others as frauds by saying “they’re not who they say they are…they’re pretending,” along with Zeke’s fake beard, seems to be pretty clear evidence that the Others are nothing more than Dharma Initiative scientists/technicians/security meant to conduct and safeguard the work being done on the island at the behest of the Hanso Foundation. Of course, this could all be baseless conjecture on my part, but it sounds good, yes?

Walt seems to have grown quite a bit (see picture above, with Walt alongside another new Other named “Pickett”), and the obvious dubbing job done to make his voice higher would seem to indicate that some necessary changes are in store for his character (i.e. he dies or becomes the subject of an elaborate and incredibly dangerous voice-deepening experiment).

Other than the fabulous patchwork huts in the Others village, we get a glimpse of another Dharma station, which I’ll call “The Rectangle” for now, and a large, oddly-shaped rock wall on a cliff above the village.

I’m guessing that rock wall is the remnant of some larger structure, with that opening having been a window. I’m sure we’ll find out much more about it in the future. But as far as Rectangle Station goes, here’s our updated station count:
1: ?
2: ?
3: The Swan
4: ?
5: The Pearl
6: ?
7: ?/unconfirmed
Yet to be numbered: The Arrow, The Staff, The Rectangle

We get another Hanso Foundation commercial (paid for by Jeep) towards the end of the show, this time with a new web address to check out: http://www.letyourcompassguideyou.com/ What you get is a Flash animation of a compass, and the page is titled Permissum Vestri Complector Rector Vos (Latin for “let your compass guide you”). On the page, embedded within the compass, appears to be some sort of partial diagram made up of a series of arcs, lines and dots. Further study necessary.

It’s revealed that Charlie plundered a Dharma vaccine case full of, well, vaccine from the palate dropped a couple episodes back and even used it himself. He’s feeling fine so far, but who knows what his taking the “vaccine” will result in. I keyed in on the dosage instructions, which state “take one shot every nine days.”

Now, whether or not each bottle constitutes a single shot, I cannot say, but if each of those bottles is one shot, that would mean 8 bottles * 9 days = 72 days between air drops. Or, if there are two crewmembers down in the hatch (as Desmond alluded to), 36 days between drops. Of course, that number hinges on each bottle being one shot, and if Charlie already took one and there’s still eight bottles, my nifty theory is shot to hell.

It looks like Vincent is in the start-up stages of a burgeoning drug trafficking career. Brilliant. No one would ever suspect a dog of smuggling dope. That is one ambitious canine.

Alex Rousseau makes a second appearance. Having first seen her in the ep where Claire is in The Staff (medical station), it’s apparent Alex isn’t necessarily an Others zealot–she has some emotional ties to the castaways. That is again apparent based on her actions in the presence of Michael, and the fact that she questions him as to the well-being of Claire and her son.

It’s curious that Miss Clue says that the Others can’t just go to Swan Station/beach and just take the four castaways she wants. Why not? Is the station considered off-limits by their superiors? If so, why? The Others have certainly gone to that beach before; what is stopping them now?

Eko certainly seems to have taken on a fondness for his new fate as button-pusher, which has taken him away from his church-building with Charlie, and will likely put him at odds with Locke. Is this another manifestation of the “will of the island?” What purpose does it serve to have Eko abandon his faith?

And finally, the episode closes with a shot of a sailboat on the ocean as it approaches the island. There didn’t seem to be any crew visible at the time. I do not believe this to be the boat Michael demanded as a condition of him breaking Gale out, rather this would seem to be another unfortunate soul who’s been drawn to the island. It could also just as likely be Desmond’s boat. He was to have been on a race around the world. Travel by sailboat sounds like on way to do it.

Other stuff from other sites:

The Lost creative staff and ABC have taken to heart fan complaints about the lack of consecutive new episodes and are making schedule changes for season three. Be careful what you wish for. Season three will start with seven consecutive episodes after which there will be a “lengthy” hiatus (something on the order of 13–yes, THIRTEEN–weeks) until the show returns and airs all new consecutive episodes until the end of the season. So expect a long Lost break starting around Thanksgiving.

Kind of a big one from this week’s official podcast: the substance on the table in Pearl Station was smoking tobacco, and the cigarette sitting there was still smoking. Hmmm. It would seem there’s another exit out of Pearl Station.

I misheard something on the Hanso phone number from two weeks ago: it was Paik Heavy Industry, not Peak. Paik is Sun’s father’s last name. That makes a lot more sense.